Production of new MBS and ABS fell in almost every category during the first quarter of 2019, but several markets showed rebounding volume in March, a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis shows. Preliminary estimates indicate that a total of $310.04 billion of MBS and ABS was issued in the first three months of 2019, a 10.3% decline from the previous three-month period. It marked the softest quarter in new issuance since the April-June cycle ... [Includes three data charts]
The difference between the weighted average coupon on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac MBS soared to an average of 10 basis points in January, with Fannie pools showing consistently higher spreads. According to a report by Wells Fargo Securities last month, the wide gap may be because Fannie is offering sweeter guarantee-fee buy-up/buy-down deals to some issuers.
The average daily trading volume in agency MBS totaled $229.9 billion in February, an 8.5% sequential decline from the previous month, according to figures compiled by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.
Real estate investment trusts increased their holdings of agency MBS during the fourth quarter of 2018, capping a solid year of growth, according to an Inside MBS & ABS analysis. [Includes one data chart.]
New production of agency single-family MBS fell for the sixth month in a row in Febru-ary, sinking to the lowest monthly output in nearly five years. [Includes two data charts.]
The average daily trading volume in agency MBS spiked northward in January, increasing 18.3% on a sequential basis, according to figures compiled by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.
The overall mortgage securitization rate fell slightly in 2018, with 70.0% of home loans originated in the primary market ending up in MBS pools, according to an Inside MBS & ABS analysis. [Includes one data chart.]
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac racked up $25.19 billion in combined net income in 2018, their most profitable year since 2013, when earnings were inflated by accounting rules for deferred tax assets. [Includes one data chart.]
New production of single-family MBS started the new year on a downbeat, with combined issuance by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae slipping to $80.72 billion in January, ac-cording to a new Inside MBS & ABS ranking and analysis. [Includes two data charts.]